THE ACTOR
by jmacbean
Summary: What happens to a TV actor once he enters the twilight Zone?


TWILIGHT ZONE  
  
THE ACTOR  
  
BY  
  
MACBEAN  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: Rod Serling was the creator of the Twilight Zone.  
  
This is meant only as a tribute to the man who shared with us his   
  
talent. Hope you will enjoy a story not told on the Twilight Zone.  
  
  
  
Your travelling through another dimension.  
  
A dimension not only of sight and sound, but also of the mind.  
  
A wonderess land whose boundries are that of the imagination.  
  
A signpost up ahead, your next stop, The Twilight Zone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In view is a large ranch house that is owned by Dan Taylor, the ranch is massive  
  
over three hundred acers. As we go inside we enter the bedroom as Dan Taylor  
  
packs a canvas suitcase. Dan Taylor is 40, and the star of a very successful  
  
western TV series.  
  
Dan is 6'4", and has a hard keeping his shirts from ripping if just moving in  
  
a normal manner. He shuts the lid and zips it shut, the door is open as his  
  
wife Amanda blond, 34 years old, has blue eyes and very pretty steps inside.  
  
Dan turns and looks as he sees her pretty smile.  
  
Dan: Just finished packing  
  
Amanda: Its going to seem strange with the series over.  
  
Dan looks down at the floor then back up meeting her eyes.  
  
Dan: It's been a great 10 year run.  
  
Amanda: Yes it has...Danny and Sarah..And we have the ranch.  
  
Dan smiles and walks over to her puts his hands on her shoulders leans down  
  
and kissed her. Looks at his watch 8:am.  
  
Dan: I got to go...Its a three hour drive to the location site.  
  
Amanda: "Broken Spur".....That place gives me chills..  
  
Dan walks over picks up his suitcase and puts his arm around Amanda and the  
  
walk slowly to the door.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Red Jeep Wrangler moves down the lane away from the ranch house and to the  
  
main road, Dan drives with the top up as it looks like it may rain, his mind  
  
with thoughts of when he first saw Amanda who worked on a day time soap up till  
  
they were married 12 years ago.  
  
Danny Jr would be 10 in September, a smile comes over his face as he remembers  
  
the day Danny was born, like today was at work on the set of his show and when  
  
he got the phone call left the set still in his outfit along with the colt 44  
  
still in it holster. The security guards almost drawed on him not knowing he  
  
was an actor.  
  
The winds begin to slightly move the sand accross the highway as Dan moves along  
  
at 65 mph, the wind slapping the black canvas top of the jeep.  
  
He makes the right turn onto the dirt road that would lead to "Broken Spur",  
  
the studio bought the old ghost town and restored it along with the old relay  
  
stage station 15 miles east of town.  
  
In view is the Motel and parking area, no one was allowed to drive a car or  
  
truck in the town, the lights, cameras and sound was all carried by wagons,  
  
the stables that housed the horses was between the motel and town, parked near  
  
the stables were trailers used as dressing rooms, and props.  
  
Dan turns and pulls in the parking place with his name on shuts the engine off  
  
and opens the door. his back hurt from the drive to the site, he looks around  
  
and a smile comes over his face, his co-star Bill Macky walks from his room.  
  
Bill Macky: Thought you'd never make it....  
  
Dan: Well got a late start  
  
Picking up his suitcase and the cloths bag laying in the back seat.  
  
Bill Macky: Is Amanda going to be here?  
  
Dan: yeah...The wrap party...She'll be here.  
  
They walk to the door with the name TAYLOR, Dan opens it and steps inside  
  
looking around a large livingroom, bar and sliding doors that open out into  
  
the desert. He shakes his head.  
  
Dan: Well two days and it over Bill...  
  
Bill Macky: Anything lined up?  
  
Dan walks over to the bar setting the suitcase down by the couch and laying  
  
the cloths bag over the back of the couch.  
  
Dan: Yeah....Another series..(smiles)  
  
Bill Macky: 222 episodes once we wrap...  
  
Bill walks over and joins Dan at the bar, Dan now behind it takes two glasses  
  
down and picks up a bottle of Jack Daniels and fills them both to the rim.  
  
Dan takes a drink and looks over at Bill.  
  
Dan: Hows the call sheet work out?  
  
Bill Macky: Nothing for us today...Tomorrow the chase scene...  
  
And your scene.  
  
Dan: The face off....221 times...  
  
Bill Macky: Yeah...The walk from the sheriff's office to the  
  
saloon, the drink and then you walk out in front  
  
of the saloon.  
  
Dan pours another drink, looks at his watch.  
  
Dan: Well its not even noon and I have had two drinks.  
  
Bill Macky: Guess thats what happens after you've been the  
  
producer for five years...(laughs)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Night came and Dan would stay in town that night and be ready for his call.  
  
As darkness fell over the town of "Broken Spur", a mist crept slowly over the  
  
town, moving into the buildings under the doors.  
  
Dan Taylor laid asleep, the mist moved through the sheriff's office and to the  
  
back room where he was sleeping. When daylight came Dan awaken, he sat up on  
  
the bunk things felt strange he couldn't explain he stood up walk over to where  
  
his mirror was he looked at it, he had grown a mustache over night well trimmed  
  
as it was he shook his head, he combed his hair and began to dress, the wardrob  
  
people had brought a new outfit, black shirt, pants and a leather vest.  
  
He picked up the vest and pinned on it was a brand new sheriff's badge, bright  
  
and as he put the vest on the gunbelt caught his eye, black leather, with silver  
  
conchos, the 44 was a new colt, the action he could sense never used. He looked  
  
at the bullets, took one out the round nose and the weight told him this was  
  
real ammunition, he picked the gunbelt up and put it on, new rawhide tie down was  
  
tied. he put the gun in its holster and walked towards the front door as he knew  
  
they would be knocking on the door for him to do his scene.  
  
He picked up his hat from the desk, it to was black and had a siver hat band,  
  
he smiled thinking, props sure are going way out on this one. He looked at the  
  
wall by the door the calendar hung there the date was June 25, 1876.  
  
Why he couldn't figure, whats more it was new, no age marks, only days marked  
  
off. Still no knock on his door, he open the door and steps out to the street,  
  
his eyes he thought were playing tricks as the town was filled with people, he  
  
looked around to see a stage coach moving up the street and stop at the stage  
  
office, what was strange there were two indian arrows sticking in the right  
  
door facing him. People were excited at what had happen, more rushed over to  
  
the stage coach. His thoughts were there are to many extras, this isn't part  
  
of the script, he walks over to the people and the stage coach.  
  
Dan: Let me through.  
  
They move aside as he moves closier.  
  
Dan: What happen here?  
  
Driver: Indians Sheriff Taylor they shot Bill off the top...  
  
Not before he got three of them.   
  
The sounds of more horses moving up the street, Dan looks in the direction and  
  
sees an army patrol.  
  
The officer stops and looks at the people and at Dan.  
  
Captain: We'll take care of this sheriff.  
  
Dan: Yeah...  
  
Dan turns and walks back across the street and three doors past the sheriff's  
  
office, he opens the double doors and looks inside.  
  
It looked different the bar was down the side to his left, before it was where  
  
the back wall is, he walks over to the bar and looks at the man who was the  
  
bar tender.  
  
Dan: You new here?  
  
Bartender: No Sheriff been here three years.  
  
Dan: Three years...That long?  
  
Bartender: What you have?  
  
Dan: Whiskey.  
  
The bartender turns and takes a bottle and picks up a glass and fills the  
  
glass, sets it down. Dan trying to figure what was going on. This was Ned  
  
Peters who was the bartender on the show for the past 10 years, Dan looks  
  
over at the bartender.  
  
Dan: Whats todays date?  
  
Bartender: It June 25th...1876..Why?  
  
Dan: My calendar got ripped the other night  
  
when Barnett was arrested...  
  
In Dans mind that was real that was in the script the fight in the jail.  
  
The bartender looks at Dan.  
  
Bartender: Barnett...What Barnett is that?  
  
Dan: Joe from the box c ranch.  
  
Bartender: Box C Ranch...Where's that...never heard of it.  
  
Dan picks up his drink, drinks it. Takes his gun out and loads it with the  
  
bullets that were in the belt, he shakes his head and puts the gun back in the  
  
holster, the whiskey was real, and not the colored tea that was usually the  
  
drink. Something is wrong here as he thinks walking towards the front door.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dan stands in the front of the saloon he knows that the cameras and the crew  
  
were there someplace, it was time for the last scene and the wrap up of the  
  
show. But there are no grips, no director, no cameras.  
  
Down the street moving towards him a lone horse and rider, the man looks at  
  
Dan, turns the horse he is riding and stops in front of the barber shop steps  
  
down and ties the horse to the rail.  
  
The man was tall and wore his gun low, Dan knew what was going to happen next  
  
or he thought he did. This wasn't how the script was wrote, what gives.  
  
The man steps away from his horse and moves to the center of the street.  
  
Dan looks at the man and looks around for the director, he doesn't show up,  
  
the man walks closier.  
  
Man: I'm back Sheriff....You said if I ever come back  
  
you would kill me.  
  
Dan: I don't even know you.  
  
Man: The name's Roberts...Dallas Roberts.  
  
Dan: Just when was it I told you to stay out of town?  
  
Man: You have a short memory...Two weeks ago.  
  
Dan: Well guess maybe we'd better get this on.  
  
Dan steps off the boardwalk to the dirt street and to the middle, they are  
  
face to face.  
  
Dan: Okay its your play.  
  
The man with steel eyes watches Dan.  
  
In the blink of an eye the man goes for the gun at his side, he pulls the  
  
gun is about half way out of its holster, Dan pulls his 44, fires hits the  
  
man in the chest, the bullet goes through the man. The man trys to take aim  
  
from the ground to fire at Dan, Dan pulls the trigger again hitting the man  
  
again in almost the same spot, this time the man grows still the gun falls  
  
from the man called Roberts. Dan returns his gun to its holster, looks around  
  
the town for someone to call cut. There are no voices heard.  
  
Dan turns and walks down the street as written in his script to the livery  
  
stable.  
  
In the script he was suppose to ride from town to boothill, there the story  
  
would end. As he walked his thoughts are what has happen? Everything wasn't  
  
as it suppose to be, the cloths, the town, the whiskey and the shoot out.  
  
Dan stepped up in the saddle turned the horse and moved slowly up the street  
  
and out of town, you passed boothill coming from the motel, this was the way  
  
it had been in the 221 episodes before this one number 222.  
  
He moves along the road to Boothill, in view was his last stop, then to the  
  
stable and into his street cloths.  
  
Boothill the fence was new, painted white with a new steel gate. Dan stopped  
  
his horse, and as everything else nothing was as it should be, a new grave  
  
had been dug, a new marker stood tall, Dan gets off the horse and walks to the  
  
gate opens it and steps inside walks over to the grave reads the marker his  
  
blood runs cold as he reads the name Dan Taylor died June 25th 1876.  
  
He turns and walks back the way he came, gets on the horse and rides away, he  
  
knows that the stable was just around the next turn, he rides the horse hard  
  
kicking the sides to get the horse to move faster. His thoughts were to get  
  
away from Broken Spur has fast as he could.  
  
He pulls the horse up, in front of him was open desert, no motel, no stable  
  
and no Red Jeep Wrangler, his face shows fear, as this wasn't in the script.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A black Chevy SUV makes the turn and parks beside the Red Jeep Wrangler, the  
  
door opens and Amanda steps out, opens the drivers rear door and unfastens  
  
the seat belts that held Danny and Sarah in their seats, she looks around as  
  
the people who worked on the show walk as if they were in a daze.  
  
A familar face shows up in the croud.  
  
Amanda: Bill...Bill Macky  
  
Bill turns and walks over to her. She looks at his face and sees the look of  
  
fear.  
  
Amanda: Whats wrong Bill?  
  
Bill Macky: Amanda we can't find Dan.  
  
Amanda: Can't find Dan...Where is he?  
  
Bill Macky: Don't know we went to do the last scene  
  
....They went to tell Dan it was time for  
  
him to go on.....His bed hadn't been slept  
  
in...Wardrob left his cloths and they are  
  
in the same place they were left...  
  
Amanda: Then what happen?  
  
Bill Macky: We were out all night....We looked everyplace  
  
and no Dan.  
  
Amanda: Then what do we do?  
  
Bill Macky Don't know...It is for sure he didn't leave town.  
  
Amanda: He's hurt someplace...  
  
Bill Macky His horse is at the livery stable in town...  
  
all the props are accounted for no one left  
  
the set...No one knows what happen after we  
  
quit work for the night.  
  
Amanda looks towards the road and to town.  
  
Amanda: Get me a horse...I want to go to town.  
  
Bill Macky: Are you sure?  
  
Amanda: Yes I have ridden horses since I was 5.  
  
Bill turns and walks away she sees him walk over to the horses that were used  
  
last night and brough two over, Amanda gets on one horse Bill the other they  
  
turn the horses and move towards Broken Spur.  
  
As they grow close to Boothill a chill moves over Amanda and she stops her  
  
horse at the gate, Bill looks at her and sees that she feels something.  
  
Bill Macky: Whats wrong?  
  
Amanda: Lets look over there.  
  
Looking towards the new grave, they step down from the horses they walk to the  
  
gate, a chain locked the gate.  
  
Bill Macky: How do we get in?  
  
Amanda: If the gate won't open then we'll pull  
  
the thing down.  
  
Bill Macky: I'll get a rope.  
  
Walks to his horse and the rope used as a prop he took off the saddle, he had  
  
his horse by the bridle and walked it over to the gate. He tied one end around  
  
a weak post the other to the saddle and backed the horse, the post dropped as  
  
did a small wooden section. They move inside, to their right was a new grave  
  
unexplained, as they moved to it, Amanda looked at the marker, she screams.  
  
Amanda: No....No...It can't be...  
  
(puts her hands up to her face)  
  
Bill Macky: Sheriff Dan Taylor shot June 25th 1876  
  
by Dallas Roberts....  
  
Amanda: What's going here Bill?  
  
Bill Macky: I don't know...I really don't know  
  
They turn and walk back to their horses, get on and turn the horses and ride  
  
back towards the motel.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
For Dan Taylor fiction became real, and it can only happen in the "TWILIGHT ZONE"  
  
For some time tourists that visit the old west set of "Broken Spur" have said  
  
that at the ghost town there have been sightings of a man and horse riding at a  
  
high rate of speed, wearing a black outfit and sheriff's badge.  
  
This is not the end.  
  
Hope you have like the story for me it has been fun. 


End file.
